A Different Perspective
by JaxWin
Summary: Discontinued.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **In my heart and mind, Vampire Knight belongs to me. However, I've been advised not to say that in public... Enjoy!

* * *

Hello. My name is Akatsuki Kain. To introduce myself, I'll tell you a couple things about myself. For starters, I'm a vampire and my cousin is the ever-popular Hanabusa Aido. Also, I've been hopelessly in love with my fellow vampire, Ruka Souen, for _at least_ 10 human years **(1)**. You know who I am, don't you? Well this is the story of my life – and not just in Cross Academy. Oh no, I'm going back much farther…

**Chapter 1**

I woke up just as the harsh light of the sun disappeared from the window of my room, which was un-curtained. Sighing, I sat up and rubbed my eyes wearily, wondering if _he_ had been the one to leave the window open and cause those unpleasantly _bright_ nightmares. A loud snore interrupted my thoughts. Yes, it had definitely been _him_.

"Hanabusa, you idiot!" I groaned, and kicked his sleeping form, huddled underneath a mound of blankets.

"Hehehehe, you smell nice," my cousin laughed in his sleep. "Can I have your blood?"

Oh yes, my cousin practically rehearses these lines for when it's time to go out and give our greetings to the Day Class girls. Day Class girls… why did that phrase seem to be setting off those little alarms in my mind…? Day Class girls!

Tripping over a stack of books my cousin had ever so conveniently placed at the foot of his bed, I stumbled over to the window, still trying to shake off the haze of sleepiness that seemed to hover around me.

Cursing, I realized my earlier observation had been true: the sun was setting, which meant that…

Senri Shiki opened the door to the room I shared with my cousin, already dressed in a uniform, though his tie was missing. "Akatsuki? Do you know where my tie is?"

"You came to my room to ask where your clothing is?!" I growled, struggling to pull my shirt on, but not bothering to fully button the jacket or shirt.

Rima Touya stepped into the room delicately behind Senri and plucked my tie from where it was hanging on a chair. "Are you using this, Akatsuki?"

My hand, which had been poised to grab my tie, fell to my side and I gave a small sigh. "Like I need it," I chuckled, and ran my free hand through my messy hair, probably doing nothing to brush it back into place.

Senri sighed in submission but the corner of his mouth was tilted up as he obediently bent down a little so that Rima could place the tie around his neck, arranging it with the utmost care.

"I can do it myself," he mumbled quietly, but he seemed content to allow Rima to continue.

"We'll return it later, Akatsuki," Rima said, smoothing out Senri's jacket, now that she'd finished with his tie. "After we find Senri's, that is."

"Yeah," Senri added, eyes locked on Rima's.

"Knowing that Senri has never found a single item he's lost in the history of this school," I replied, tugging at my cousin's still sleeping form, while my two friends had a little moment. "I doubt I'll be getting that tie back."

"We'll scour the dorm if we have to," Rima said turning away from Senri and facing me about ten seconds after I'd made my comment.

"I could find it if I wanted to, Rima," Senri scowled.

"Like I said earlier, I don't need it," I grunted, beginning to think my attempts at waking my cousin were futile and we'd all four of us be late **(2)**.

"But I'm _thirsty-y-y-y-y-y_!" Hanabusa called out in his sleep, licking his lips hungrily.

As if on cue, though, Rima and Senri both appeared out of no where on either side of Hanabusa's bed and they each emptied an entire pitcher of water on my cousin. "Drink this, _Idol-senpai_," they said mischievously as Hanabusa awoke, spluttering and completely, drenched from his slumber.

"I'm going to kill you guys!" Hanabusa screeched, jumping out of bed and lunging at the pair but tripping over the same stack of books that I'd tripped over, and falling. In the meantime, Rima and Senri made their getaway, tossing the now-empty pitchers at Hanabusa's head. He cursed angrily but began stripping off his wet pajamas.

"Hanabusa," I reprimanded his curses but he shot me a dirty glare and I pressed my lips together, silently handing him his shirt.

"What?" he asked grumpily after a few moments.

"We're going to be late," I shot back impatiently, pointing outside at the waning sunlight.

Hanabusa yelped and began dressing with a renewed vigor; just as I'd thought, my groggy cousin hadn't realized the time and was probably still stuck in his dreams of sipping real blood for the first time in 6 years **(3)**.

Deciding that Hanabusa could more or less dress himself, I ran down the stairs two at a time and burst out of the Moon Dormitory, jogging over to the area in front of the gate where my classmates were gathered in preparation for our commute to class.

"Ah, Akatsuki," Vice-President Takuma Ichijou said, greeting me with that perpetually charming face that almost all the Day Class girls fell in love with. "You finally got out of bed?"

"I hope we didn't hold back the class," I bowed my head in apology.

"No problem," Takuma replied cheerfully. "It seems that our guardians are running a little late as well."

Now that he'd mentioned it, amidst all the cheering girls, I heard the steps of Yuuki Cross as she ran towards the gate.

"Where's Aido, Kain?" Dorm Leader Kaname Kuran asked, appearing calmly at the head of our class.

"Right here, Kaname!" Hanabusa yelled, sliding to a stop right in front of the gate.

"You were almost late again, Aido," Kaname noted.

"I apologize, Dorm Leader," Hanabusa said, formally bowing to our pure-blooded leader, but Kaname had already turned away.

"I almost didn't think he'd make it in time," I muttered, watching Hanabusa preen as the gates opened with a creak.

"Well, if he'd been late (… again…) Kaname would have surely punished him (… again…)," Takuma laughed.

"With all due respect, Takuma," I sighed and braced myself. "I doubt that a slap on the head would rush my bone-headed cousin. No, he's here for…"

And there was the squealing of girls.

"Good MORNING, my lovely ladies!" Hanabusa waved. "Still as pretty as ever, I see."

"He's here for the girls, his adoring fans," Takuma finished with an amiable smile.

I sped up and placed a restraining hand on Hanabusa's shoulder. He ignored it, but I whispered, "Hanabusa, it's not morning; night is falling. If you had closed the curtain, we wouldn't have been late, and you would probably have recognized that already."

"Akatsuki's just cranky," Hanabusa called out loudly in a sing-song voice, causing several people around me to glance in our direction suspiciously.

"Of course I am," I growled. "I woke up five minutes ago. You're always getting us into trou-"

"Kaname!" I heard Ruka cry out softly.

Turning, Hanabusa and I caught sight of our dorm leader placing a gentle hand on Yuuki. Nothing surprising though. All of us in the gang – just what I call Hanabusa, Ruka, Seiren, Takuma, myself, Kaname, Senri, and Rima – knew that Kaname had a soft spot for our favorite prefect. Fewer knew that Ruka held an unrequited love for our cold gang leader of sorts. Only two of us knew about the much similar love I had for Ruka.

I slowly took in the soft, waving chestnut hair she kept at waist length and acknowledged the scowl darkening her angel's face. Of course. Ruka was jealous, and of human at that. SO typical of Ruka. I was about to say something to her, to touch her arm and ask her how she could bear to grimace so early (figuratively) in the day, when my cousin called me back to the present, urgently.

"Akatsuki, look!"

Ah, so now the other prefect shows up. Zero Kiryu, looking dark and angsty as ever, had suddenly grabbed Kaname's hand away from Yuuki. Speaking of the jealous… Ruka and I weren't the only ones.

"Class is starting, Kuran," Zero spat.

The whole of the Night Class seemed to tense then, though our screaming fans seemed unable to notice. Sensing what would happen next, I protectively grabbed Ruka's arm before she could launch herself at Zero. From the corner of my eye, I could see Takuma had edged in front of Hanabusa and appeared to be holding him back as well. Luckily for us, Seiren seemed to be restraining herself well enough but she was coldly eying the crowd surrounding us, as if calculating how quickly she would be able to take care of the Day Class and if it would be fast enough to also possibly dismember a certain prefect.

Kaname jerked his hand free. "You're really scaring me, _Mr. Prefect_." He seemed perfectly calm, walking back towards his awaiting escort (us).

Ruka relaxed slightly as Kaname joined us, but turned towards me and reaffixed the scowl to her face. Snatching her arms out of my loosened grasp, Ruka snarled, "You should've just let me get rid of him, Kain."

I flinched and backed away, though not at her scowl; so it was back to using my last name? Ruka would, every once in a while, switch from using the more familiar first name to the cold-hearted and stranger-like last name. If you think about it, it's an easy was to keep track of my status with her at least.

Hanabusa poked my arm, looking more or less happy now that Kaname's offender had been dealt with, and we heard two foolish girls come chasing after our gang, the last students of the class.

"Kaname!" the girl called nervously to Kaname, a delicate, blood red rose cradled gently in her hands. "Um… Please, Kaname, would you accept this?"

"Yes, of course," Kaname thanked the girl, taking the rose and stroking the ribbon tied lovingly onto it. "Thank you."

The girls ran off giggling, back to their dorms most likely, looking as if handing Kaname the rose had been the sole purpose of their lives. It probably had been.

Takuma clapped his hands cheerfully. "That was very kind of Kaname."

"Mm-hmm," Kaname agreed, his thoughts obviously elsewhere as he cast a last glance at Yuuki, who herself seemed to be lost in thought before her partner poked her and said something obviously displeasing. Kaname averted his eyes - almost too quickly for any of us to register he'd even been looking at Yuuki, but our vampire eyes were used to that. He didn't seem to want to walk away just yet, merely staring desolately at the rose in his hand and so we stood for a moment, lingering just outside the doors to our classrooms.

"WHAT?" Ruka snapped, tensing under the stares of everyone but Kaname.

"Oh, nothing," Takuma soothed, in that calming voice of his, though Ruka glared.

"You look angry," Senri shrugged.

"And possibly jealous," Rima noted, almost too softly to hear.

"We're going to be late," Ruka shot back coldly. She stalked past me, looking absolutely furious and even a little hurt so I quickly grabbed her wrist. Ruka narrowed her eyes and was about to yank herself away, but I motioned silently with a jerk of my head towards Kaname.

The rose was held tightly between two fingers and his eyes seemed to glow dully as the petals of the rose slowly unfurled, turned a decayed, brown color, and wilted. He twirled the stem slowly between his fingers and the petals fell gently and flew away on a breeze.

"Thank you, Kain," Ruka said, allowing me to walk with her into class despite her earlier annoyance with me. She was still using that damnable last name of mine, but I'd settle. I always did, didn't I?

* * *

The next night I remember sitting in ethics class, the old vampire teacher preaching to us about how special we were.

"But we already know _that_," Hanabusa yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"We here in the Night Class are the first of our kind in the world to test these newly developed blood tablets," our teacher droned on.

"I suggest they come in different blood types," Senri sighed, licking his lips forlornly. "Regular old O positive gets boring after a while."

"Senri, here," Rima reached into her jacket pocket and dug out a packet of tablets, holding one to his lips until he eventually swallowed it, tiredly.

"Not only are we the pride of this school, we are also the pride of the entire vampire race," the teacher continued, choosing to ignore any and all interruptions in our class.

"Somehow I really doubt that," I heard a younger student murmur.

"We're just a study group anyway," another young vampire acquiesced.

"I don't know about that," Ruka interrupted. "After all, co-existing with humans like this is a big step forward, right Kaname?"

"That's right," Kaname chuckled.

It was at about this time that I noticed a figure standing outside the window behind Ruka. Studying it closely, I was able to distinguish the short thin figure of Yuuki Cross. Feeling perplexed, I was pulled back into the classroom by a nudge in the ribs courtesy of my cousin.

"So you finally noticed her, huh?" Hanabusa whispered. Right, because it made absolutely no sense for my cousin to actually _pay attention_ during class, did it?

"How long has she been standing there, Hanabusa?" I asked through the corner of my mouth.

"Oh, couldn't have been more than half an hour," Hanabusa said off-handedly. "Kiryu would've noticed if it had lasted any longer. Oh wait; maybe it was more than half an hour…"

Turning back to the window, I noticed a much taller figure join Yuuki on the roof top; Zero Kiryu, of course.

"Want to investigate a little after class ends? We have a break in between classes," Hanabusa suggested, looking mischievously excited.

"Another one of your plans? I'm not getting in trouble _again_," I shot back, frowning.

"That's too bad, Akatsuki," my cousin pouted. "I _just_ thought you might want a break from _that_." He motioned with a jerk of his head to the scene playing out in front of the window; Ruka sat, practically at Kaname's feet, saying whatever she could think of to bring herself back into his graces after yesterday's little incident (last night, Kaname happened to catch Ruka in the act of saying some rather, er, _rude _comments concerning Yuuki). Kaname did nothing more than smile gently at Ruka's efforts, but I felt something harden in my throat and my grip on my pencil tightened considerably. Only the sound of it snapping in half brought me back to myself and I turned back to Hanabusa.

"I promised myself I wasn't going to care," I muttered under my breath, looking anywhere but at Ruka and Kaname. Instead, my gaze fell on my pleased cousin.

"You'll accompany me?" he asked, cheerfully, knowing fully that he'd perfectly executed his plan.

"Only to make sure you don't get out of hand," I replied darkly, but began surreptitiously packing up my things so we could leave the moment our teacher dismissed us.

Once outside the classroom, Hanabusa's eyes widened and, for a second, turned a bright red. "Do you smell that?"

"It smells… delicious," I agreed, closing my eyes and sniffing the air appreciatively. "Hurry, I want to find out who that wonderful blood is coming from."

"We just came to take a few pictures of the Night Class," a girl's voice said, coming from a small clearing in the brush.

"You're bleeding?!" Hanabusa seemed positively drunk on the scent and was quite content just standing there.

"This is bad, please return to your dorms immediately," Yuuki said urgently, but then she seemed to finally note our presence. "WHO'S THERE?"

I stepped in front of my intoxicated cousin and caught the Artemis rod. It sparked and stung, repulsing my hand but I smirked. "Very close. I'd expect nothing less from the Chairman's daughter, though, would I?"

"We smelled blood and decided to investigate," Hanabusa said, snapping out of his reverie. He slowly approached Yuuki, but I was suddenly confused. What was he talking about? The girl from the day class was still bleeding, so why would he be getting…

"The tempting scent we were talking about, Yuuki," Hanabusa said, grabbing Yuuki's hand. "Is of your own blood."

"Hanabu-" I started, but turned away. My impulsive cousin had already sunk his teeth deep into Yuuki's palm, releasing a heavenly scent: real blood. I admit, my attempts at stopping Hanabusa were half-hearted at best, but I did try. "Hanabusa, Kaname will kill you for breaking school policy. Remember? NO drinking blood on school grounds. Especially not with witnesses here," I said, softly enough for only him to hear.

I could tell he paused for a moment, lifting his head. "But Akatsuki, the girls just fainted," he replied, equally soft. Louder this time, addressing Yuuki, he said, "I want more… Can I take it from your neck?"

"Kaname will kill you for hurting his favorite human," I said, starting to feel a little light-headed. "Hanabusa, are you listening?!"

I turned dizzily, and saw Zero holding a gun to Hanabusa's head. "Drinking blood while on school grounds is strictly prohibited, Aido."

The next thing I remember, a shot had been fired from that damnable gun the Bloody Rose and Kaname was rebuking us.

"Kain."

"...Huh? Me?"

"Why didn't you stop Aido? You're just as guilty as he is." Kaname chastised.

"But-" I sighed. Another plan courtesy of Hanabusa that had gotten me in trouble again.

* * *

Later that night, just as the sun was starting to rise, I found myself in the open sitting room of the Moon Dormitory.

"Ten days of suspension?" I sighed. "Thanks a lot, Hanabusa."

"You didn't have to come," Hanabusa pouted.

"You MADE me come!" I snapped.

"It was still worth it for a taste of Yuuki's blood," Hanabusa sighed, completely ignoring my anger. "I don't think I'll be able to live off tablets for much longer."

I kicked his chair and glanced nervously at Kaname, who was sitting only a few feet away, but Hanabusa took no notice.

"Her blood was so delicious…" Hanabusa whined.

SLAP!

"Excuse me?" Kaname asked, looking cold.

"Sorry," Hanabusa said, remorsefully. After Kaname had left the room though, he rubbed the spot on his head where Kaname had smacked him and whined. "Akatsuki, why didn't you tell me Kaname was here?"

I sighed, but went upstairs to retire to my room. What else could I do?

* * *

**Authoress' Notes:**

(1) I used the number ten but it's really however many years (vampire or human) that he's been alive. I never really found that in context so I guessed…

(2) My explanation as to why Akatsuki is NEVER wearing a tie.

(3) I just used six because I didn't now how many years the academy has been open.

Thank you for reading my first chapter! Reviewing would be nice, too.

JaxWin


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Nothing, sadly, has changed and I still don't own them.

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

As was usual, I was up earlier than Hanabusa, this time, though, to the excited chattering of our steadfast admirers in the Day Class.

Hanabusa grunted and buried himself deeper underneath his covers. "Give me a break, I was fast asleep," he whined. Sitting up in bed groggily – and obviously quite grumpily – he rubbed his eyes. "It's so noisy outside the gates… must be the girls from the Day Class. What do they want now?"

A faint memory was called to mind where Hanabusa had left the curtains open and I'd paid dearly for it the following afternoon when the sun had shone directly into my eyes. When was that exactly? Oh yes, I remembered now. It had happened every afternoon of my life spent sharing a room with my cousin – _except_ somehow this morning. I could remedy that. I opened the curtains as wide as I dared without bringing myself too much pain.

"AKATSUKI! The light!" my cousin yelped and dove back under the covers, whimpering. Ah, payback could be oh so sweet.

"Whoa… it actually is the Day Class girls. Better get ready to run," I said nonchalantly now that my vengeance had been exacted. I suddenly remembered something and grinned slightly. "Oh. That's right. It's today…"

"What is?" Hanabusa asked, peevishly. It wasn't very often I got the chance to get back at him and I was quite enjoying this morning so far.

"It's the day that girls give out chocolates and confess to their crushes…" I grinned even wider at my cousin. "Valentines Day."

Adjusting slightly to the bright sunlight, I opened the window just enough so that I could listen in on the situation unfolding right outside the gates.

"Akatsuki, are they actually there NOW?" Hanabusa asked, peeking out from under the covers with the faintest glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

"You don't think…?" I asked him, incredulously.

"Well, it IS still morning," Hanabusa jumped out of bed quickly and joined me by the window.

"They wouldn't! Not an all day stake-out in front of our gate!"

"The love of my adoring fans knows no bounds," Hanabusa said dreamily, resting an elbow on the window ledge and resting his chin in his cupped palm. "See, Akatsuki! Look, it's a fan girl trying to climb over our gate and award us with our chocolates! She loves us! I love you to-" he started to call out.

I clamped a hand firmly over his mouth but glanced down and saw that Hanabusa had actually been telling the truth: a young, fair-haired girl was on her friend's shoulders trying to scale the wall dividing the Moon Dormitory from the girls. Using our sensitive hearing, we could listen in as the girl struggled to maintain balance while at the same time panting, "I have to give them my chocolates…"

"Oh no," I groaned.

"Oh YES!" Hanabusa said, all but rubbing his hands together with glee.

"HEY YOU! STOP RIGHT THERE!" A voice cut through the early morning, punctuated by several shrill blows of a whistle.

"Yes!" I laughed, punching Hanabusa lightly. The Night Class's defender from pushy fan girls, Yuuki, had been struggling to keep the girls under control and herd them in the direction of their classrooms when our slightly overzealous admirer had taken to climbing the wall.

"Hmph," Hanabusa said, frowning slightly. "If she wants to give us chocolates then she shoul­-"

"Aaaaaaah!" the girl screamed and toppled, falling… only to be caught by our other, more-than-slightly antagonistic prefect, Zero.

"Darn you, Kiryu!" Hanabusa hissed, vehemently.

"You WANTED the girl to fall and hurt herself?" I asked dubiously.

"Of COURSE not," Hanabusa sniffed indignantly. "It's just the _concept_ of the thing! That mean prefect touching _our_ fan."

"Ah, so you wanted to leap out into the burning sunlight and save her yourself," I said, avoiding my cousin's face so that I wouldn't burst out laughing and listened to Zero being… Zero. He glared darkly at all the girls, lecturing them. Not that I minded all that much. Sure he'd pointed a gun at my cousin about two weeks ago but, really, Hanabusa had earned it.

"Er, well, not quite…" Hanabusa answered with a touch of chagrin.

"You know, Hanabusa," I said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Kaname wouldn't let you drink her blood as a reward for saving her a few broken bones and a couple bruises. Come to think of it, I don't think Kaname would ever let you drink any student's blood as long as we're on campus."

Hanabusa frowned and was about to say something in his defense when a statement Zero had made caught our ears.

"If you absolutely _must_ give them presents, it will have to wait until dusk. Come back when the Day and Night Classes change over."

"Ah, so we'll be assaulted with unwanted chocolates _after_ the girls have finished their classes," I commented.

Hanabusa seemed appeased and smiled, getting back into bed. "Does it matter? I'll still get my chocolates."

"It'll be fun when the sun goes down," I yawned hugely, also heading back into bed. "After all, this only happens once a year."

"I guess so," Hanabusa replied, once again snuggled deeply under his covers. "Chocolate is still pretty good… but I still like blood better for dessert!"

* * *

Later in the day, after we'd all finally woken up, the Night Class gathered before the gate dividing us from our adoring fans. Our gang was unusually close to the front of the class, mostly due to my cousin's eagerness to greet his girls.

"Don't you think it's an interesting custom among humans?" Takuma asked, looking positively fascinated.

"Giving each other chocolates?" Senri was as disinterested as Takuma was intrigued.

"Hmm," Ruka said dryly. "Sounds more to me like the humans were just looking for ways to reward themselves."

"Untrue, my friends!" Takuma corrected. "Giving each other gifts and chocolates is merely the easiest way of expressing a sense of love and caring humans have for friends, family, and their admired ones."

"If they really cared all that much," Rima asked innocently, tilting her head to the side. "Don't you think they would come up with better ways to express their love?"

"I agree," Senri grinned at Rima and the two snickered when Takuma opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to think of a usable argument to counter with.

"Ruka, who would you give chocolates to if vampires were to actually take part in this human chocolate-giving custom?" I asked, trying to keep my interest minimal.

"Kaname," she answered without hesitation, but then realized that her answer had come out a little too short and possibly a little too fast, causing the whole group to eye her suspiciously while I carefully hid a grimace.

"And you guys, too, of course," Ruka added hastily. "I mean, aren't chocolates supposed to go out to all your _friends_, Akatsuki?"

My ears perked up at the sound of my first name but I slowly deflated as I processed that Ruka had also explicitly used my name when categorizing me as a friend.

"You know, Takuma," Senri said thoughtfully after the murmurs of agreement to Ruka's comment had subsided. "Valentine's Day could also be a very depressing time for many people."

"Oh really?" Takuma's brow was furrowed in deep concentration as he tried to see what Senri was getting at.

"I agree," Rima smiled back at Senri. "For those who'd been hoping for something and were spurned, this would definitely be a saddening and difficult time."

I narrowed my eyes at Senri and when he finally broke eye contact with Rima to glance at me, he shrugged and I couldn't bring myself to believe Senri of all people would be the only person other myself and my cousin to realize how I felt about Ruka.

"I've got to go," Ruka said suddenly. "I almost forgot something." Without another word, she disappeared into the crowds of our fellow students, milling about the courtyard.

"This much fuss everyone?" I asked, trying to bring a light-hearted tone into my voice. "It's just a silly human holiday and no reason to get worked up."

"'Just a silly human holiday'?" Hanabusa repeated. "JUST A SILLY HUMAN HOLIDAY?! Akatsuki, these wondrously generous girls are about to SHOWER us in chocolates!"

"Someone seems a bit excited," Takuma laughed.

"I'd bet he's more than 'a bit excited'," I heard Rima mutter as the gates opened with a click.

"SHHHHHHHHH!" Hanabusa cut across Rima, focused intently on the instructions Yuuki was giving to us, while simultaneously yelling, whistling, and waving cards often seen in the hands of soccer referees, around at girls.

"This is hell," Senri sighed.

"Whoa! This year all the girls are going into hysterics!" my cousin whispered to me, eyes bright. "It's awesome! This is so cool!"

"I'm still sleepy," I yawned tiredly.

"I'm wide awake!" Hanabusa blatantly ignored me and as I glanced at him I was reminded of a runner about to race out of the running pit at full speed.

"Welcome to the traditional Valentine's Day celebration," Yuuki addressed the Night Class, with a serious face not corresponding to the silliness we all found in this festival of sorts. "Each student is to go to their individual gates and politely receive their chocolates from the girls offering them."

"Hmm? Ruka?" I whispered, noticing her suddenly appear again next to us.

"Understood? I would like everyone to understand that this is not a game," Yuuki continued, oblivious to my conversation with Ruka.

"It was nothing important," Ruka said, looking slightly smug.

"It means a lot to the girls so please take it seriously!" Yuuki finished.

"THEY'RE MINE! ALL MINE!" My head snapped back towards where Hanabusa had been standing – though it was really more like bouncing in place – just a second ago.

"Aido," Kaname's cool voice was audible even above the din the girls were making. Following our dorm leader's gaze, I found my cousin, frozen in place about fifteen feet away, obviously in the act of racing towards his gate.

"Remember to mind your manners, understand?"

"Yes," Hanabusa answered meekly. "Of course, Dorm Leader."

"This is moronic," Senri sighed, slowly following Hanabusa.

"Do it anyway," I told him distractedly. Was it just me or was Kaname holding something in his hands, already? A small package of some sort?

"Um… Please accept this, Kuran!" A young girl bowed low in front of Kaname and offered up her chocolate. Yes, there was no doubt about it; Kaname had been carrying a chocolate even before he'd ever noticed the line at his own gate.

Deep in thought, I collected the chocolates duly as they were handed to me by my own fairly large line of girls. Kaname couldn't have ventured outside of the gates before the rest of the class; we would've heard the cheers of the girls if one of the most desirable members of the Night Class had stepped out alone. Therefore the mystery chocolates couldn't have been from anyone in the Day Class.

So it was from someone in the Night Class? But we didn't celebrate human love festivals… right? Who among us would've cared enough about our cold, dispassionate leader to want to express their love in any and every way possible? Not… Ruka? Could it be her?

"Ah… sorry, everyone…" I heard Kaname apologize to his fans. "I can't hold anymore." He politely took his leave of the humans and while passing by Yuuki, he stopped to say a few words. Yuuki, who was holding back two of my fans that I'd neglected in my deep thought, looked rather flustered and a bit disappointed that Kaname was leaving already.

"Thank you for your hard work, Yuuki," Kaname said, finally heading to class with Seiren carefully tailing him.

"We're the only ones Kain ignored," one of the fans sulked.

"Sure, Kaname!" Yuuki replied, but if I could read thoughts, I'm sure hers would be something along the lines of "Shoot! He's leaving already!"

"How come Wild didn't come here?!" another of my fans burst out.

By now I'd noticed the two, but if there was anything I hated more than being called Kain by Ruka, it was being called Wild by my fans. Seriously "Wild"? What am I, some kind of feral animal or something?! I passed by them without a glance and was on my way to class when a crashing sound caused me to turn back.

My crazed fans had gotten more aggravated as I passed and finally overpowered Yuuki, sending all three girls crashing to the ground with a thud. I turned just in time to see Zero toss a small package towards Kaname, who caught it easily despite his "full" hands.

"I accept," Kaname said graciously. "Thank you, Yuuki."

I sighed gratefully, knowing Kaname wouldn't blame me for causing hurt to fall upon his favorite human. God forbid _that_ happen. I started to walk away from the scene when I bumped into Ruka. "Oh, Ruk-"

"_This is all your fault_," she hissed. The venom in her comment hit me like a slap in the face.

"WHAT?" I asked, incredulous.

"You should have been monitoring your girls," she said accusingly.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this!" I glared back at her, feeling mad at Ruka for what must have been the first time in years, possibly. "You act like they're my _property_ or something! It's not my job to watch over humans."

"It's enough to occupy your cousin," she said coldly, motioning over with a jerk of her head to Hanabusa who was casually flirting with a Day Class girl.

"What the hell is wrong with Kaname getting some chocolates?" I already knew the answer, but I'd do anything to ignore the part where Ruka had said I should be more like my _cousin_. Shudder.

"They came from HER and-" she started but abruptly cut herself off and stalked off.

"JEALOUS MUCH?" I yelled after her, angrily. "AFRAID OF A LITTLE COMPETITION, RUKA?"

She didn't answer and continued walking – more like running, really – to the classrooms, and I immediately regretted having said anything at all.

I sighed and leaned against a tree trunk, running a hand through my hair. "Great job, Akatsuki. You made her mad at you."

"Kaname… You don't have to bother carrying all that," a quiet female voice said. Glancing around, I found the origin of the voice with the only other two vampires leaving this early in the festival: Seiren and Kaname.

"You can get rid of the rest," Kaname dictated, dropping all the chocolates but Yuuki's into Seiren's hands and walking away. "This is the only one that I want."

Seiren, who had given no indication of having noticed me, carefully sorted through the chocolates. "You want these, Akatsuki?"

Contrary to popular belief, Seiren actually talks to people other than Kaname and the people she's trying to kill as a result of an attempt at hurting Kaname. I cringed from my spot where I had been hiding in the shadow of a tree and asked, "How did you know I was there?"

"I'm pretty good," Seiren said softly. She picked up the thin package that was Ruka's and held it out in her hand as if offering it to me. "Would you like these?"

I hesitated. "It's not like I need any more chocolates…"

"I could always get rid of it with the rest," Seiren shrugged, moving to drop it into a pile with the rest of the chocolates.

"No!" I snatched it away, careful not to damage the delicate wrapping or the ribbon tied on meticulously. "I mean – Um…"

"Of course, Akatsuki," Seiren nodded, as if I'd actually presented her with a plausible reason. "Feel free to take them."

She was about to turn around and follow Kaname when I felt compelled to ask. "Who else knows? About me and, um, how I feel about _her_?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Akatsuki." Seiren walked off, though I could've sworn there was a smile in her voice. Another fact about Seiren: she's capable of humor, nice-ness, being caring, and all that; I guess you just have to catch her without Kaname.

"So, baby, what's your blood type?" I heard my cousin ask a girl, casually.

"Idol - I mean, Aido!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! THAT'S NOT ALLOWED!" I heard several shrill blows in a whistle. Yuuki quickly pushed Hanabusa and the Day Class girl apart. "ALL YOU CAN TAKE ARE CHOCOLATES AND FEELINGS!! **NOTHING** ELSE!"

"I'm sorry, Yuuki," I sighed, grabbing my cousin's arm and steering him towards the classrooms. "I'll take him away, alright?"

Yuuki suddenly seemed distracted. "Zero? Where'd he go?"

"Bye, Yuuki!" Hanabusa called back with a grin as I dragged him away.

"Shut up, Hanabusa!" I said, hitting him. "You're lucky that she was distracted! You probably won't get reported to Kaname now - _probably_."

"Gosh, why are _you_ so grumpy?" Hanabusa pouted.

Grudgingly, I told him what had happened with Ruka.

"You should have given her chocolates," Hanabusa nodded in what was a failed attempt at looking wise.

"She wouldn't have accepted them," I scowled.

"You don't have my charm," Hanabusa smirked.

"Oh, obviously not," I rolled my eyes. "Does everyone want me to be more like you now?"

"Wouldn't hurt much, Grumpy."

"Shut up," I said cleverly.

"I bet if you'd let me deliver for you, she'd accept your chocolates."

"… Are you forgetting that we don't celebrate Valentine's Day in the vampire world? You act like I'm carrying some around," I said hesitantly.

"Technically you are," Hanabusa grinned. "But those are from the other girls. I was talking about the chocolates you made especially for her that you're hiding in your pocket."

Without warning, he lunged at me and snatched out a colorful package from my pocket.

"I knew there had to be a reason you'd stay up all night! You had to make sure I was asleep so you could sneak away and ready your gift!" Hanabusa snickered gleefully.

"Give it back!"

"RUUUUUUKAAAAAAA!" Hanabusa ran off towards the classrooms at a sprint.

I sighed, resigned, and plodded slowly after the last stragglers of the Night Class. Surprisingly, Ruka was waiting outside the doors of our classroom.

"That was a very sweet thing you did," she said, holding up the package and giving me a rare smile.

"You accepted them?" My eyes grew wide.

"Of course, I did!" she smiled again and gave me a hug. "Your apology is accepted."

I froze. "Apology?"

"For the fight we had earlier? Hanabusa said you were just too proud to say sorry yourself," Ruka laughed.

"Well then, I'm glad we're still friends," I stammered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to… _thank_ my cousin." Leaving Ruka to wait outside for Kaname, I entered the classroom quickly and hissed, "HANABUSA!"

"Whatever are you upset over, dearest cousin?" Hanabusa said in the most innocent voice he could muster.

I glared and his notebook erupted in flames.

"HEY! Cool it, Akatsuki!" he said, trying to ice the flames out of his notebook. "I told you she'd accept them!"

"I didn't ask you to!" I lunged at him and gleefully began choking him. "DIE, YOU STUPID COUSIN!"

"H-help! SOMEONE, help meeeeeeee!" Hanabusa rasped. In the end, not even Takuma, Senri, and Rima could pull me off of him. No, in the end it was…

"Kain," the door had opened with a resounding creak. Kaname stood at the door, raising an eyebrow at the scene before him: Hanabusa was turning blue while my hands stayed firmly clamped on his throat as Takuma, Senri, and Rima all tugged futilely at me. "May I ask what you are doing?"

I hesitated, glancing at Kaname, then Ruka standing resolutely behind him, then my feet. "Nothing, Dorm Leader Kaname," I said softly, though the room was so quiet suddenly that anyone in the room or outside of it could've heard. Gritting my teeth, I pried my hands away from my cousin's throat and stiffly sat down.

Kaname nodded and also took his seat. Following his lead, anyone else who had still been standing or otherwise positioned (a.k.a. my cousin) sat down, looking obediently towards Kaname. In response he stared at the head of the room and politely apologized to the teacher who everyone had somehow managed to ignore. "We're very sorry for interrupting class, Teacher."

Anyone else who knew what was good for him or her obediently apologized as well and when the excuses had died down the teacher addressed Kaname in a dry rasping voice. "The Valentine's Day Festival has already caused us to lose half an hour; another fifteen minutes would not matter," he said. "It was no trouble at all, Pureblood Kuran. Let us not waste any more time, though please. Class, please begin."

"Jeez, Akatsuki, way to overreact," Hanabusa sulked, oblivious to our teacher's "class, please, begin".

"Don't even start, Hanabusa," I smiled coldly at him. "Not even Kaname could stop me if you say another word."

"Akatsuki's mad," Senri noted. "Akatsuki's almost never mad."

"The chocolates must have gone to his head," Rima whispered not-so-discreetly. "This is why Valentine's Day is unhealthy for vampires."

"Akatsuki's parents don't give him chocolate very often," Hanabusa said, sticking his tongue out at me. I stomped on his foot hard underneath the table and he quickly bit down on his tongue to keep from crying out.

"One more word, Hanabusa. One. More," I threatened him while he silently pouted.

"How come you guys didn't just use your powers?" Ruka asked Senri, Rima, and Takuma.

"Takuma said not to," Rima shrugged.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to disobey the vice-president of the Night Class, would we?" Senri asked.

"Well," Takuma grinned and rubbed the back of his neck in slight embarrassment. "I thought we'd cut down on some of those nasty repair and replacement costs that have been going up lately for the Night Class."

"How thoughtful," Ruka remarked dryly. "Though I'm sure it would've knocked some sense into the idiot."

"Talking to me?" I asked blankly. Her glare was enough of an answer.

"You got in a moronic fight with a family member," she sniffed. "Disgraceful."

I could practically feel myself slipping lower and lower in ranks of importance in Ruka's mind. "Let me guess… You're unforgiving me?"

"Yep."

"Damn," I muttered, turning my attention back to our teacher.

* * *

**Authoress' Notes:**

I'm kinda' sad since the last section just seemed really out of character. Other than that, I'd like to thank last chapter's reviewers and ask again for my readers to review for this chapter. Also, in the manga, the Night Class's participation for the coming chapters is fairly minimal, so don't be surprised if I combine the next few chapters.

JaxWin


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